You're walking into a showing. The client is already there — parked, waiting. Something feels off. You can't name it. There's no obvious red flag. But your stomach tightens. Your breath gets shallow. Something whispers: be careful.
And then your brain starts:
"This is ridiculous. He's probably just nervous about buying his first house. You're being paranoid. Think about what you'd look like if you cancelled right now. So unprofessional. He hasn't done anything wrong."
Sound familiar?
This is the battle between gut wisdom and brain noise — and for women who work alone, learning to tell the difference might be the most important skill you ever develop.
What Is Gut Wisdom?
Gut wisdom isn't mystical. It's biological.
Your nervous system is constantly scanning your environment for threats — processing information faster than your conscious mind can keep up. Micro-expressions. Body language. Tone of voice. Proximity. Movement patterns. Your brain is running millions of calculations per second, comparing what it's seeing to every threatening situation you've ever encountered or heard about.
When something doesn't match the pattern of "safe," your body sounds the alarm before your conscious mind understands why.
That's the gut. It's not irrational. It's pre-rational — faster than words, faster than logic, faster than your brain can build a case.
Your gut doesn't need evidence.
It has information you haven't consciously processed yet.
What Is Brain Noise?
Brain noise is the voice that shows up after the gut speaks — and tries to explain it away.
Gut Wisdom Sounds Like...
- A sudden feeling in your body
- Wordless knowing
- Physical sensations: tight chest, shallow breathing, hair standing up
- The urge to move, leave, create space
- "Something is wrong" (no explanation needed)
Brain Noise Sounds Like...
- Justifications and explanations
- Words, logic, "reasons"
- Social concerns: politeness, professionalism, what others will think
- The urge to minimize, explain away, wait and see
- "You're overreacting because..."
Brain noise is often louder than gut wisdom. It has more words. More social pressure behind it. More "good reasons."
But it's reactive. It shows up to manage the gut signal — to make you doubt what you already know.
Why We Ignore Our Gut
Women are trained from childhood to question their own perceptions. To be polite. To give people the benefit of the doubt. To not cause a scene. To be "nice."
This conditioning creates a pattern: gut speaks → brain explains it away → we override our instincts → sometimes nothing happens → we feel "silly" for being worried.
Over time, we learn to distrust the signal that's designed to protect us.
"I don't want to be rude."
Your safety is more important than their comfort. Period.
"What if I'm wrong?"
The cost of being wrong is an awkward moment. The cost of not acting could be everything.
"This is unprofessional."
Prioritizing your safety is the most professional thing you can do. You can't serve anyone if you're harmed.
"They haven't done anything."
You don't need them to do something. Your gut has already processed what you can't consciously see yet.
How to Act on Your Gut
When your gut speaks, you have one job: act first, analyze later.
This doesn't mean escalating to a dramatic exit every time you feel nervous. It means creating options. Giving yourself space. Positioning yourself for safety while you gather more information.
The Immediate Response
1. Acknowledge the signal. Don't dismiss it. Don't argue with it. Just notice: "Something feels off."
2. Create physical space. Move toward an exit. Put distance or an object between you and the person. You can do this subtly — step toward the door, move around the island, position yourself near a window.
3. Observe from safety. Once you've created space, you can assess. What specifically is triggering your gut? What's the person doing? How are they responding to your movement?
4. Have an exit ready. Before you engage further, know your out. "I need to take this call." "My colleague is meeting us." "I forgot something in my car."
You don't have to wait until you're sure. You don't have to be polite. You don't have to give them a chance. Your gut has already given you all the information you need. Your only job is to act on it.
When It Turns Out To Be Nothing
Your gut signals. You create distance. You observe. And it turns out to be... the Uber Eats driver. A neighbor. Someone completely harmless.
This is not a failure. This is the system working.
Your gut's job is to alert. Your job is to respond. The outcome doesn't determine whether the gut was "right."
A woman who listens to her gut and discovers it was a false alarm is doing exactly the same thing as a woman who listens to her gut and avoids a real threat: she's honoring the signal and taking action.
The only failure is hearing the signal and ignoring it.
You're allowed to be "wrong." You're allowed to step outside because something felt off and then realize it was nothing. That's not embarrassing. That's not paranoid. That's a woman who trusts herself. The only person who judges you for being careful is your own brain noise.
The Real Danger
It's not the false alarms.
It's the moments when your gut spoke clearly — something is wrong — and your brain talked you out of it.
"He's probably just being friendly."
"I don't want to be rude."
"I'm sure it's fine."
Every woman who has been in a dangerous situation can point to a moment when she knew. When her gut was loud and clear. When she almost acted — and then didn't.
Brain noise is louder than gut wisdom. It has more words, more reasons, more social pressure behind it.
But gut wisdom is right.
Your job is to listen to it before the noise drowns it out.
Learn to Trust What You Already Know
Inside Fierana, you'll build the connection between gut wisdom and action — so when your body speaks, you move. No hesitation. No second-guessing. No waiting for permission.
Join the Founding Circle